Since initiating the reform of the Russian Armed Forces in 2008, Moscow has paid close attention to the development of its own network-centric warfare capability.
National Defense Management Center in Moscow (Source: mil.ru)

Elements of this version of network-centric approaches to combat operations have involved strengthening electronic warfare (EW) capacity, modernizing infrastructure, reforming structures, as well as boosting and streamlining command and control, among other features. A related emphasis has been placed upon force enablers and force multipliers. As the integration of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) has advanced, Moscow has also experimented with network-centric operations during its involvement in the complex conflict in Syria (Versia.ru, October 1). Facilitating its network-centric operations in Syria involves unifying reconnaissance and intelligence along with command-and-control (C2) structures in…

Turkey’s aerospace authorities have chosen General Electric’s F110 family of engines to power the prototype and an initial batch of what will become Turkey’s first indigenous fighter jet, the TF-X. The twin-engine TF-X will be powered by the F110-GE-129, left, or the F110-GE-132 engine. A senior procurement official confirmed the choice, saying that the twin-engine TF-X will be powered by the F110-GE-129 or the F110-GE-132 engine. “This is a stopgap solution until we have built our indigenous engine for the TF-X,” the official said. Under the deal, the first prototype of the TF-X and an unknown number of initial batches would be powered by the F110 engine. Turkey then plans to switch to an engine to be developed by TRMotor, a national engine consortium. But some aerospace sources say the F110 may not be the ideal engine for a fifth=generation fighter. “If the Turks go for the GE option, they will have to compromise on the stealth capabilities of the TF-X,” a Paris-based defense specialist s…

A patriot missile radar system set assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, sits in a training area during the units table gunnery training exercise on Kadena Air Base in Japan, Oct. 19, 2017. The Army is looking to replace the radar with a next-generation system in the near-term (Photo by Capt. Adan Cazarez/U.S. Army)

The purpose of this sense-off seems to be designed to hit the reset button on the Lower-Tier Air-and-Missile Defense System (LTAMDS) program that has struggled to bring about a new radar for well over a decade. But with the new push for a sense-off, questions arise on whether this effort can right the ship for the program or send it farther off course. The Raytheon-made Patriot air-and-missile defense radar was first fielded in the 1980s and the …

Tecmash CEO Vladimir Lepin told the Zvezda broadcaster about the design of new missiles, artillery shells and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). 9K51M Tornado-G MLRS displayed at Army-2016 (Picture source: Vitaly Kuzmin)
Tecmash has recently displayed new-generation projectiles for Tornado-G MLRS. It created a system which allows the operator to accomplish the mission without leaving the cabin. Three new munitions were designed and the commander decides which one to engage to increase combat effectiveness. Major interest in the system was displayed at the Army-2018 show. Tecmash is ready to produce and supply it to potential buyers. The enterprise is working to increase Tornado-G precision and range.
US, Turkish and Chinese companies are well represented on this market at present. Serbia also displays major successes. But Russia keeps advanced positions in the sphere. Tecmash is ahead of many companies. Foreign MLRS designers stake on increased caliber. Russian counterparts inven…

One of the hottest topics during the recent Commercial UAV Expo was centered on drones operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and the inevitable integration of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles through controlled airspace. Earl Lawrence of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) addressed the topic on the first day of the event, and later presenters touched on the subject during numerous sessions and discussion panels.
One company doing something to directly enable these kinds of operations on the hardware/software front is Sunhillo, a global leader in surveillance data distribution and conversion products. Headquartered in West Berlin, NJ, within 45 minutes of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC), Sunhillo handles all life-cycle aspects of aircraft surveillance data distribution systems for the FAA, US Military, civil aviation authorities, and national defense organizations across the globe.
We had the opportunity to connect with Doug Walczak, Senior Analyst…

Sikorsky and Boeing are offering the SB>1 Defiant for the Army's Future Vertical Lift Program. Courtesy of Sikorsky-Boeing

The U.S. Coast Guard is watching how the Pentagon handles its Future Vertical Lift helicopter program over the next decade as its own MH-65 Dolphin fleet's flight hours continue to climb, the commandant of the service said Friday. "We're watching the Department of Defense very carefully with Future Vertical Lift," Adm. Karl Schultz, the Coast Guard's 26th commandant, said during the annual Military Reporters & Editors conference outside Washington, D.C. He explained that the MH-65, the Coast Guard's primary aircraft used aboard cutters during deployments, will pass 30,000 flight hours. The service has 98 in its inventory. "We're in our 'Echo' upgrade -- that's our next iteration [life extension]," Schultz said. "We have to keep those things in air for a while, probably into 2030." Part of the Depa…

Without needing to accommodate a human on board, drones are bound only by the laws of aerodynamics.

That means shapes familiar and strange, from palm-sized rafts that resemble miniature helicopters to tube-launched boxes with wings that transition into fixed-wing vehicles in flight. One exciting frontier for drone body shape is biomimicry, masking the outward appearance of the robot by giving it a form that resembles an animal. Consider, if you will, a Russian drone, built to resemble an owl.

This owl-shaped drone comes from the Zhukovsky/Gagarin Air Force Academy. It’s not the first such bird-imitating drone from the Academy, which also made a falcon-shaped drone. For greater realism, that falcon drone can play prerecorded falcon sounds. (Beyond Russia, there’s a rich field of drones that look like birds, used for everything from advertising sunscreen to scaring birds away from airports and even spy drones for other militaries.)

DARPA and Lockheed have modified an off-the-shelf commercial helicopter to fly itself in typical military missions, including supply runs, medevac, and recon. The next step: Port the MATRIX software over to an actual Army UH-60 Black Hawk, which will fly next year. The long run: Design next-generation scout and assault aircraft to be optionally piloted from the start.
The tablet interface used to control DARPA’s ALIAS autonomous flight controls.
For safety reasons, there were highly trained test pilots aboard the Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft, a modified S-76B, during this month’s flight tests at Fort Eustis, Va. — but for much of the time, they might as well have stayed on the ground. In one case, Sikorsky autonomy director Igor Cherepinsky told reporters this afternoon, “we also had a non-pilot with all of 45 minutes of training take the aircraft up and operate for almost an hour.”
How? The humans just tapped on a tablet screen to issue some basic instructions — take off, fly …

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ANKARA, Turkey — A leading Turkish drone manufacturer says it developed a “mobile naval mine” that can blow up warships of all types.
The Wattozz program has been jointly undertaken by Albayrak Savunma, a drone maker, and Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey’s Black Sea region. Wattozz is named after “vatoz,” which translates to stingray.
The Wattozz features the shape of a stingray and is made of titanium and aluminium. It has two cameras fitted into the eye sockets of the “stingray” and can cruise at a maximum speed of 5.5 knots for up to 12 hours. The drone features three integrated engines.
The mobile mine is an underwater drone that can be used for surveillance or assault missions. It can carry explosives and is controlled by encrypted acoustic sound waves.
The stealthy Wattozz cruises underwater and then sticks itself under the hull of an enemy vessel with electromagnetic magnets. The explosion is controlled from a remote station. It can stay inactive on the seabed while in…

The new year will likely bring a new secretary of defense, a renewed emphasis on changing how the Pentagon buys weapons systems and a continued focus on watching technological development by the Chinese government.

C4ISRNET asked industry leaders what trends they expect to emerge in the battlefield landscape in 2019. Here’s what they said:

Accelerated acquisition
“Right now, your toaster can tell your refrigerator that it needs to order more bread, but the world’s most advanced military is still challenged to connect its huge array of systems. That’s just not sustainable. Before the military can start tackling huge technological leaps like artificial intelligence, we have to change the way we develop weapon systems. I see 2019 as the point when the DoD really starts moving away from buying proprietary, stove-piped, closed hardware systems and instead looks to the commercial software world as a model for how we develop and integrate weapon systems. Focusing on commercial-style softwar…

Carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), hypersonic weapons, and the business of cyber security dominated reader interest highlighting some of the most important technological issues facing the U.S. defense industry. By Mil & Aero staff
Of 2018's top 10 most-read articles online at Military & Aerospace electronics, two concerned shipboard UAVs, and two were about the emergence and enabling technologies for a new generation of hypersonicweapons. Rounding-out 2018's most popular Military & Aerospace Electronics articles were on topics concerning emerging market powerhouses in cyber security; vetronics and armored combat vehicles; prospects for a future supercavitating torpedo; advanced military night vision; combat aircraft avionics; and the tense military situation in the South China Sea.
Five U.S. defense contractors are among the world's top 25 cyber security and trusted computing companies, say analysts at market researcher Cybersecurity Ventures in Nort…

It is perhaps axiomatic, and thus seemingly unnecessary, to say that computers have transformed modern war. But they have in ways both large and small; they have, for example, become deeply integrated with the full range of Army operations—part of a broader convergence of domains and thus part of a pattern that has led to the development of the multi-domain battle concept. The problem, however, is that military technology training has failed to keep pace with rapidly growing capabilities.

The result is that despite expanding digital footprints, most soldiers might as well be using typewriters, analog telephones, and chalkboards when it comes to the capabilities they bring to bear in pursuit of military objectives. Despite technology’s massive potential, waiting to be harnessed by members of the most advanced fighting force the world has ever seen, soldiers without basic computer programming skills cannot automate simple tasks, integrate data sources, or effectively leverage the unendi…

U.S. Army researchers are surveying the defense industry to find companies able to develop autonomous cyber defensesfor tactical networks and communications that capitalize on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., issued a request for information (W56KGU-19-R-AUTOCYBER) on Monday for the Autonomous Cyber project. Researchers are looking for cyber technology to secure automated network decisions and defend against adaptive autonomous cyber attackers at machine speed. The Army Contracting Command is conducting this industry survey on behalf of the Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD). Overall, S&TCD envisions a combination of several artificial intelligence and machine learning products that deliver autonomous cyber defense capabilities. Specifically, researchers are looking for cyber and trusted computing…